Underwater communication is a challenging task due to the unique properties of the underwater environment. The propagation of sound in water is affected by various factors. Ulmo Labs has a proposal that aims to provide UVs with higher quality underwater communication.
We are developing a real-time engine that combines an acoustic propagation model, network simulator and updatable digital twin of the undersea environment. The simulator will run on UVs in real- time(milliseconds) to enable the selection of optimal network and signal transmission/processing strategies. The simulator uses hardware accelerated raytracing capability of modern GPUs to achieve a significant speed-up compared to current GPU accelerated models. The performance increases allow the modelling of diffraction, specular reflection and diffuse scattering. The integrated network simulation will evaluate underwater or surface systems as communications relays to extend range and form robust communication networks and strategies.
A real-time underwater acoustic simulator provides several operational benefits to underwater communication between UVs, C2 and seabed systems.
Our acoustic model extends the Bellhop model with adaptive splitting to simulate diffraction, specular reflection and diffuse scattering off the seabed floor; splitting wavefronts into smaller beams when they encounter edges or curved surfaces. Adaptive splitting is a commonly used technique in architectural acoustic simulation but has not been adopted by underwater acoustic simulators. This feature allows the simulator to model the acoustic interactions at the seabed floor, sea surface boundaries and other objects such as shipwrecks and undersea infrastructure. The engine will provide an API to continuously ingest environmental data sea temperatures, altimetry, locations of other UVs and other undersea objects improve the accuracy of simulations. The engine will track all nearby UVs and keep records of their transducer physical models. It will perform a network analysis to determine if friendly UVs or underwater systems can be used to as relays to extend range or allow communication in shadow zones. We will integrate the ns-miracle network simulator to allow the simultaneous evaluation of multiple protocols, frequencies and routes in real time.